it has been
democratized--and with the cheerful consent of the class to which
formerly the possession of commissions was largely confined. Gradually,
to these soldier-thinkers, as well as to the mass of others at home,
is unfolding the vision of a new social order which is indeed worth
fighting for and dying for.

III

At last, our knees cramped and our feet soaked, we saw the lights of the
French port dancing across the veil of rain, like thistledowns of fire,
and presently we were at rest at a stone quay. As I stood waiting on the
deck to have my passport vised, I tried to reconstruct the features of
this little seaport as I had seen it, many years before, on a bright
summer's day when I had motored from Paris on my way to London. The gay
line of hotels facing the water was hidden in the darkness. Suddenly I
heard my name called, and I was rescued from the group of civilians by
a British officer who introduced himself as my host. It was after nine
o'clock, and he had been on the lookout for me since half past seven.
The effect of his welcome at that time and place was electrical, and
I was further immensely cheered by the news he gave me, as we hurried
along the street, that two friends of mine were here and quite hungry,
having delayed dinner for my arrival. One of them was a young member
of Congress who had been making exhaustive studies of the situation in
Italy, France and England, and the other one of our best-known writers,
both bound for London. We sat around the table until nearly eleven,
exchanging impressions and experiences. Then my officer declared that it
was time to go home.

"Home" proved to be the big chateau which the British Government has
leased for the kindly purpose of entertaining such American guests as
they choose to invite. It is known as the "American Chateau," and in the
early morning hours we reached it after a long drive through the gale.
We crossed a bridge over a moat and traversed a huge stone hall to
the Gothic drawing-room. Here a fire was crackling on the hearth,
refreshments were laid out, and the major in command rose from his book
to greet me. Hospitality, with these people, has attained to art, and,
though I had come here at the invitation of his government, I had the
feeling of being his personal guest in his own house. Presently he led
the way up the stone stairs and showed me the room I was to occupy.

I awoke to the sound of the wind whistling through the open lattice